RDO tweeters in Model 10 - NEED ADVICE

Peabody67GTO

Hello,
I am the original owner of my Model 10's I got in 1985. I posted a question on speaker wire to help with the brightness, annoying to ears sound of the tweets at a louder volume.

Anyway, some one suggested I replace the SL-2000's with a RDO tweeter. I called Polk a month ago and asked if they had any advice for a tweeter replacement & they said that the new replacement SL-2000's were redesigned and that they should be smoother and not so bright, ETC. I bought a pair and they do sound a tiny bit better (maybe they need to be broken in more) but they are still very harsh sounding.

My friend is selling a pair of JBL J-2080's (a little large they your typical bookshelf) to my neighbor & just for the hell of it I connected them to my system and the highs sounded so much more natural and crappy recordings did not sound so crappy as they do on my 10's using my Onkyo Integra P-308 and M-504 preamp & amp. These speakers are selling for $50 and the high end sounds so much nicer. Now I cannot compare the low side of the JBL's to the very nice sounding Polks.

I want to either sell the Polks are do something to help with the high end.

Could it be that the new SL-2000 replacements are not broken in yet? What is the average time it takes to break them in? Are these differant then the original 2000's that came out in 85? Do these tweeters sound better then the original 2000's in time or was the rep just tiring to make a sale?

Will the RDO tweeters do the trick & if so what model are they and do I have to change the crossover or is it a direct replacement?

It that is the case I have a pair of SL-2000 for sale in like new condition if any body wants them.

Please give me any suggestions on what I should do. I would hate to sell my Polks that still look new after 25 years.

THANKS

zarrdoss

they do take about 30 hrs or so to break in but I would suggest replacing the caps and resistors on your cross over with new ones. The old ones are like you say 25 years old and they drift out of their original value, plus they have come a long way since then.

dane_peterson

You've owned these speakers for 24 yrs, and now decided they're too harsh?

After replacing the SL2Ks with RD0s, there should be absolutely no feeling of "harshness". RD0s are quite laid back, ESPECIALLY in bass-heavy Monitor 10s. If you bought a pair directly from Polk, you got the RD0194s... an all black dome tweeter. That's the correct model.

If you want to get rid of the 10s, I hope you're near Minnesota. But if not, I'd recommend the resistors get a good look... some have commented on how replacing their resistors with different values on the highpass have made improvements to the harshness of even the SL2000s. A full Xover rebuild (even with cheaper Dayton parts of partsexpress) should yield you some very nice results.

Peabody67GTO

Hello,
No it did not take 25 years, LOL. I moved from a place that had carpet, fluffy couch, curtains, ETC to a house a few months ago that has 12' ceilings, hardwood floors, Blinds on the window and on the door and the side glass & also a 8' opening where French Doors were between the 1st 2 rooms. The sound is very live and has echo which brought out the brightness of the old 2000's & that 504 amp is a little bright sounding that I also got to replace my Hafler AMP that was a warmer amp. Matching all that with my Sony 520 ES CD player I bought a year after the Polks in 85. When I upgraded to the Rotel 1070 with the Audio Quest Blue racer Interconnects everything had so much detail & the AQ have to burn in also. I think I just did many changes and did not realize it takes time for things to settle in.

My friend said I really need to burn in those tweeters and I would be amazed at the sound in time. I also am into vinyl and have a Denon 103R moving coil cart that is very detailed. It is like the great recordings will blow you away and the crappy ones sound like a tin can.

I am getting in some Western Electric #12 wire from the 70's that should really mellow out the sound.

What is the best way of cleaning the BP of the polks? Like a wire brush?

So these new "sl-2000" replacements are the so called RDO 194's. Yeah they are all black and you do not see any twisted wire on the face.

Now is that 30 hour break in time better to have it at a louder level for a hour or 2 or play it all day at a lower level?

I keep everything Flat & would it help the burn it if I boosted the treble and play more electronic music or play a test CD with white noise, ETC?

I am sure I can find the info on rebuilding the X-over.

THANKS

gdb

"Sounds to me" like you need to consider doing some room treatments to deaden things a little.;)

kawizx9r

gdb wrote: »

"Sounds to me" like you need to consider doing some room treatments to deaden things a little.;)

+1
You said it yourself, you were in a place where sound just had no chance of bouncing off anything and now you're living an audiophile's nightmare (in regards to the listening room).

Ben (concealor) has a thread with alot of info on making your own acoustic panels, otherwise you can ask the guru's here where they bought theirs

F1nut

The RD0194-1 tweeters are considerably more mellow right out of the box than the SL2000's ever were. As for burn in, simply play your system as you would normally. After 24 to 48 hours the tweeters are fully burned in.

That said, I agree with the others that your room is the main problem. Wire, tweeters, crossover upgrades aren't really going to help until you address that issue.

hearingimpared

Do the RD0194s require less break-in time than the 198s?

F1nut

They both take 24 to 48 hours from my experiences.

Peabody67GTO

Hello - I did buy some acoustic tiles and have about 60% of my walls covered. It did help out but the Highs are still on the bright side. I have played the 194's for at least 200 hours so they are broken in and are not as smooth as I would like. It might just be an issue with my 504 not liking the Polks.

My friend brought over a cheap JBL large bookshelf speaker and it was so much smoother and not hard on the ears. Of course the lows were not present and sounded bad as a speaker. Then he let me use a BA Vr1 floor speakers and they sounded even better but did not have the awesome bass the 10's have. So I know my room or amp is not a issue now.

Can I change something in the crossover to calm things down even more?

Or can I try another tweeter from another company that might fit? I have had these speakers for 25 years and really want to keep them because they still look Brand new.

dorokusai

The only thing that changed was your enviroment. Throwing a bunch of tiles on the wall sounds like a terrible idea with no clue as to what your room even looks like. How about some curtains....a rug, furniture, etc. You definitly don't have to cover 60% of your walls with tiles.

You don't have to rebuild the xover and the tweeters are more than broken in. What gear are you using now since you mentioned a bunch of loose items? Where's the Hafler now? Try using it again. Why would some old Western Electric wire from the hippie days change anything?

I'd suggest taking a step back and stop changing everything and swapping stuff around all the time. Take a little time to listen before moving forward.

ben62670

Replace the poly switch with a one ohm resistor if you can handle being cautious to not burn the tweeters out. If you are tripping the poly switch(tweeters shutting down at high volumes) don't remove the poly switches. Use Dayton's on the highs. They are a little more laid back. I normally use SoniCaps on the highs for most people, but here you may be better off with the Dayton's from partsexpress.com. Where do you live? I am in agreement with treating the room. Heavy curtains and a heavy rug is a good first step. Fake trees in the corners help.
Ben

dorokusai

Re-building his xover is a ridiculous suggestion at this point.

ben62670

dorokusai wrote: »

Re-building his xover is a ridiculous suggestion at this point.

Dayton caps are laid back. Yes I agree room treatments are needed. The caps are around 20 tears old, and we all know that is the life for caps. A heavy rug and heavy curtains should be done. Room treatments are under rated.
Ben

dorokusai

Don't group me in the "we" all know stuff. This is exactly why I usually regret posting assistance anymore, I'm outta here.

Good luck with your journey Peabody.

gdb

You might also try giving the treble control knob a counterclockwise twisting. Some "purists" don't use,or even have tone controls but, the EEs put em there for a reason, to adjust the tone. Try it.:D

Peabody67GTO

Hello,
I do have a rug and changed my blinds to curtains. The room is 12x12 with 10' ceilings and hardwood floors.

The main gear is a Onkyo Grand Integra P-308 Preamp, Onkyo M-504 amp, Rotel 1072 CD Player, Sl-1200 MkII with a Denon 103 Moving Coil cart.

I have never blew the Poly Switch so I might try that idea to replace it with a 1 ohm resister.

Why would a X-over upgrade be ridiculous?

I also keep my tone flat.

Hey Ben,
Check your PM.

ben62670

dorokusai wrote: »

Don't group me in the "we" all know stuff. This is exactly why I usually regret posting assistance anymore, I'm outta here.

Good luck with your journey Peabody.

Sorry most of us know that caps degrade over time.
Ben

hearingimpared

Peabody67GTO wrote: »

Hello,
I do have a rug and changed my blinds to curtains. The room is 12x12 with 10' ceilings and hardwood floors.

The main gear is a Onkyo Grand Integra P-308 Preamp, Onkyo M-504 amp, Rotel 1072 CD Player, Sl-1200 MkII with a Denon 103 Moving Coil cart.

I have never blew the Poly Switch so I might try that idea to replace it with a 1 ohm resister.

Why would a X-over upgrade be ridiculous?

I also keep my tone flat.

Hey Ben,
Check your PM.

You have a square room which is known to have horrible affects on acoustics. I think you need to find the hot spots in your room and tone them down with acoustic tiles.

Hamatym

How about a nice DBX Equilizer to take control of the sound levels, clean it, and boost it as well. Whatever you want to do you can with extra control.

hearingimpared

Hamatym wrote: »

How about a nice DBX Equilizer to take control of the sound levels, clean it, and boost it as well. Whatever you want to do you can with extra control.

:eek::eek::eek::eek:;)